All those topics that i wish i had time to pursue more earnestly.
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Category — General

Black is White . George Will is…

Black is White . George Will is…: “

Black is White. George Will is joining the chorus of attack on the universities: Academics, such as the next secretary of state, still decorate Washington, but academia is less listened to than it was. It has marginalized itself, partly by political shrillness and… [Leiter Reports]

Ahh. I was all set to write something about this but anyone who thinks and who has read George Will knows that he is the absolute model of modern day pundit. Meaning that facts and knowledge enter little in their world.“

(Via A Man with a Ph.D. – Richard Gayle’s Weblog.)

But let us translate:  what Mr. Will really means is that universities are places where the banalities and misinformation which are the lifeblood of the mass media are not taken seriously; where people who think Iraq attacked the World Trade Center have a tough time holding their own in grown-up conversation; where apologists for state terror have to confront the arguments of those who know an apology for state terror when they see it; where lies about economic and social policy are perceived as lies, and made to answer to facts and evidence; where, in short, the parochial smugness of an effete little simpleton like George Will (and his many clones who constitute the “diversity” of the mass media) is perceived as exactly that. 

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I’m not saying we have special access to knowledge, but i will say that there are experts that disagree and have good reason to disagree with certain policies of the current administration. those reasons though have nothing to do with faith, and have much to do with facts and their interpretation.

November 30, 2004   No Comments

George W Bush is the AntiChrist

George W Bush is the AntiChrist: “”

(Via .)

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if i were inclined to believe the myths involved, this would be believable.

November 30, 2004   No Comments

Psychology Today: Cupid’s Comeuppance

Psychology Today: Cupid’s Comeuppance: “”

(Via .)

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this is a fairly interesting analysis of the neurochemistry of love and pair-bonding in humans, explaining why, chemical interventions in such chemistry has effects.

November 30, 2004   No Comments

Supreme Court Denies Review of Challenge to Gay Marriage

Supreme Court Denies Review of Challenge to Gay Marriage: “by TChris Faced with the novel argument that federal courts should protect state citizens from a state court’s “tyrannical” interpretation of a state constitution, the United States Supreme Court declined to review a failed challenge to same-sex marriage in Massachusetts….”

(Via TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime.)

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a win for state’s rights, this might be the way to put these things, contrive them to be a choice between two principles….

November 29, 2004   No Comments

My First Entry

My First Entry: “

Welcome, dear reader, to my NervousFishblog.
These pages will contain my musing on many issues, spanning a diverse range of
concerns. However, the primary purpose I have in mind for this blog is to act
as a sort of public notepad for my PhD research. If you don’t know me, I am a
student of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech. My main research
area is international relations theory and I am essentially interested in how IR
theorists think about Empire and
Imperialism.

If you want to know more
about my academic background. please feel free to visit my main website at
http://homepage.mac.com/thenervousfishdown/ — Here you will be able to download
my CV as formatted for an academic audience. In the meantime, please do check
back on this site from time to time as I be frequently posting notes from my
research and other thoughts.

(Via NervousFishblog.)

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apparently Mr. Kiersey…. has a blog……

November 29, 2004   No Comments

sometimes good people pass on

Ave atque vale: “”

(Via .)

this notes a few from this year.

November 29, 2004   No Comments

If you care about the humanities

If you care about the humanities: “Then you must read Mark Bauerlein’s absolutely smoking essay on bad academic writing. A review of Just Being Difficult? Academic…”

(Via Critical Mass.)

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i don’t see this as a real problem…. the question is not one of addressing the public, but finding the points of translation, or who translates to the public. not every person should write for a general audience, nor should every person be required to do so.

November 29, 2004   No Comments

interesting conference.

The Two Cultures:

Reconsidering the division between the Sciences and Humanities

http://nchsr.arts.unsw.edu.au/twocultures.html

21 and 22 July 2005 Venue: Lecture Room A, Webster Building, the University

of NSW

The Two Cultures: Reconsidering the division between the Sciences and

Humanities, will bring scholars together from the sciences (physics,

molecular biology, computation, evolutionary systems) and the humanities,

social sciences and cultural theory whose work has philosophical resonance.

The purpose will be an interrogation and

reassessment of current understandings of the fact/value,

real/representation, nature/culture split. One of thecasualties of “the

linguistic turn” which displaced “natural facts” with “cultural

constructs” is that scientific research that purports to explain natural

facts (without inverted commas) has been difficult to engage. Despite the

rapid changes in technological, medical, and scientific innovation that

demand a serious reconsideration of human identity – what it is and what we

want it to be – intellectual cooperation between the humanities and sciences

over such questions remains desultory. This conference hopes to broaden the

terms of understanding and critical exchange between these research

communities.

Themes

· Biosemiosis: living systems as language systems

· Feminism and Science: a forbidden intimacy?

· Re-Figuring the Representation Question: mathematics, data

and prediction

· Biotechnology and Ethical Futures: where to from here?

Participants include:

· Professor Karen Barad: Women’s Studies and Philosophy, Mount Holyoke

College (theoretical particle physicist, research expertise on Niels Bohr

and

quantum mechanics)

· Professor Jesper Hoffmeyer: Institute of Molecular Biology, University of

Copenhagen (molecular biologist, biosemiotician)

· Associate Professor Thomas Lamarre: East Asian Studies, McGill University,

Montreal (marine biologist, biophilosopher, research expertise on

archaeology of inscription)

· Dr Philippa Uwins: Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Microscopy and

Microanalysis, The University of Queensland (research expertise on

nanobes, origin of life)

· Dr Sha Xin Wei History of Science, Harvard University (mathematics,

cultural theory, art practice)

· Dr. Melinda Cooper: Sociology, Macquarie University (biophilosophy)

· Dr. Vicki Kirby: Sociology and Anthropology, UNSW (semiology,

biophilosophy)

· Dr Catherine Mills: Philosophy, UNSW (biopolitics, biotechnology, ethics)

· Dr Catherine Waldby: Sociology and Anthropology, UNSW (feminism,

biomedicine)

· Dr Elizabeth Wilson: University of Sydney (cognitive psychology and

biophilosophy)

· Dr Heather Worth: Deputy Director, National Centre in HIV Research,

UNSW

Cost: $150/$75 students

Registrations: Email Rodney McDonald at rodney.mcdonald@unsw.edu.au;

include: Name; email address;

organisation; postal address and contact phone number

Proudly Supported by: The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences; UNSW

More information can be found at the website:

http://nchsr.arts.unsw.edu.au/twocultures.html

November 29, 2004   No Comments

Funny: Why Women Live Longer Than Men

Funny: Why Women Live Longer Than Men: “”

(Via .)

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i’ve known guys like this…..

November 28, 2004   No Comments

godless communism

The Authentic History Center:: “”

(Via .)

does this sound like george bush’s republicanism or what?

November 28, 2004   No Comments